Parents shut school, want SGB to go!
BODY BLAMED FOR WOES
PARENTS from a community in Limpopo have vowed to keep a local primary school closed amid calls for the school governing body (SGB) to step down.
Yesterday, a group of parents from GaSekgopo village, near Modjadjiskloof, blocked the entrance to the Munnik Primary School with burning tyres and tree branches.
Pupils and teachers were also prevented from entering the school yard.
Parents blame the SGB for the school’s financial problems, which apparently led to its account being closed sometime last year after getting an unfavourable audit.
One of the parents at the school, Mapula Maake, said problems at the school worsened when the school’s account was closed.
Maake said the school went for months without receiving funds, which led to their water and electricity being cut off while workers, including security guards, were not paid.
She said the SGB failed to address their issues, adding that the school’s account was only restored recently after parents took the initiative to approach the department of education.
Maake said they also wanted the SGB to account for funds that could not be accounted for in the school’s records.
“They have failed to do their work so they must step down,” she said.
Maake said the school would remain closed until the SGB was removed. Some members of the group, made up mostly of women, threatened to burn down the school.
Another parent, Elizabeth Mamabolo, said they were unhappy with the SGB’s performance.
“Security guards and feeding scheme staff went unpaid for months. Some of those people are single parents and have kids to look after,” Mamabolo said.
Maleho Mohale, chairwoman of the SGB , said there was no proof that they were behind the school’s financial woes.
Mohale said the department closed the account last year after they received a bad audit reflecting that some funds could not be accounted for.
“Upon seeing the audit report the department was concerned that school funds were being mismanaged. They closed the account,” she said.
Mohale said the SGB would only step down after certain processes had unfolded and they received instruction from the department.
Spokesman for the department, Naledzani Rasila confirmed that the school’s financial affairs were being investigated.
Rasila said parents were summoned to the school in order to start a process of removing the constitutionally elected SGB, as required by law, but they did not comply. He said the district office had invited them for another meeting on Sunday 25 to discuss the issues.